He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 182

“The Demon race is scheming again… So they weren’t just involved in the Lasgarmann situation.”

It was unexpected, but at the same time, I thought it was possible to some extent.

Given the current situation, the only ones the old Greenskin forces like Lasgar would ally with were the Demon forces.

Of course, I don’t know what Lasgar thinks of the Demons… but judging from this, they must have formed an alliance or something close to it.

“I need to find more clues. Right now, I’ve only found out that the Demon race is involved.”

“Where will you go next?”

“Let’s head to the front lines where we can target high-ranking commanders as much as possible. Either way, we need to balance things out on the northern side.”

Liberating just one village wasn’t enough to get enough clues. I led the Rangers and headed back to the front lines right away.

* * *

“Long live King Golak! Sweep away the traitors!”

“Long live the Southern Alliance! Kill the cowards of the North!”

The battle between the Northern Kingdom army and the Southern Alliance army grew more intense.

What started as skirmishes between militias had escalated into full-blown battles between regular armies on both sides.

“Volley fire!”

Tatatatang! Tang!

“Stand up! Is that all the pride of the Greenskins amounts to? Stand up and fight!”

“Uwoaaaaah!”

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The battle was brutal. When the Northern army, armed with magic-triggered guns, fired a volley, the Southern army fell in droves.

But surprisingly, Orcs and Trolls got up and charged again even after being shot.

Fueled by blood rage, they engaged the Northern army, whose combat capabilities were relatively weak, in close combat.

The Northern army, with its superior firepower, and the Southern army, with its numerous strong warriors, pushed and shoved each other in a grueling tug-of-war.

“Kugh! We’re being pushed back! 2nd Company! Where is 2nd Company’s support!”

“Enemy cavalry is approaching that way too! We have to hold out on our own!”

“Damn it, then we won’t back down either! Brothers, we are the King’s loyal subjects and true Greenskin warriors! Let’s show the barbaric fakes of the South what a real warrior is!”

“Uwooooaaaaah!”

Unfortunately, the battle seemed to be tilting towards the Southern army’s victory.

The Northern army struggled, but couldn’t withstand the Southern army’s relentless waves of attacks, which compensated for their lack of firepower with sheer numbers.

Nevertheless, the Northern soldiers, deeply proud of themselves as ‘civilized’ Greenskins, were determined to fight to the end.

Booooooo-

“Ah, no! Look over there! Reinforcements are coming!”

“Human volunteers!”

At that moment, volunteers were rushing in on horses and wolves from afar.

Shushuk! Shushushuk!

Woowoowoowooo-

“Alright! In the meantime, the marksmen reload! We’ll push them back again!”

As those with rapid-fire modified crossbows swept through with their shots, the wolf cavalry played their role as shock cavalry, engaging the Southern Greenskin warriors in close combat.

That alone reversed the tide of the battle. As the Northern army reloaded and fired a volley, the Southern army was on the verge of collapse.

“Retreat! Retreat! Khugh, if it weren’t for those humans……”

The Southern army Orc general shouted for retreat on horseback. The Southern army attempted to flee in disarray, but many were forced to surrender and were taken as prisoners.

Tang!

“Kuh-heok!”

The Southern army general, trying to escape, was hit by a bullet fired by someone and fell from his horse.

Of course, a sturdy Greenskin wouldn’t be unable to get up from the mere shock of falling from a horse.

He immediately got up and tried to run away. But…….

Growl!

“Aaaagh!”

A huge wolf, Silver, pounced on him and subdued him.

“Good job, Silver!”

-Kyahoong!

The wolf’s owner, Franz, the Emperor of the Empire, stroked its mane and jumped off Silver.

“Are you the Southern army general? Surrender.”

“Hmph, the proud Southern army does not surrender.”

“Proud, huh……. Are the proud ones playing with the Demon race?”

“What? What are you talking about!”

Suddenly mentioning the Demon race, the Southern army general shouted with a puzzled look.

But regardless, the Emperor called the volunteers and had him tied up and seated.

“You guys were selling humans to the Demon race too.”

“What! I don’t know anything about that!”

“You don’t know? That’s good then. Hey, bring that guy over here.”

At the Emperor’s command, a Ranger dragged in an Orc covered in traces of torture. He was not a prisoner from this battle.

“What, are you daring to torture a prisoner! Do you guys even have the right to talk about being civilized after doing that!”

“I wouldn’t have done it to a normal prisoner, but this guy is an exception. He’s a slave broker.”

“Kugh, even so……”

“This guy sold humans to the Demon race. And if humans weren’t enough, he even sold Greenskins as slaves.”

“……!”

As Franz said that, the Ranger immediately struck the guy’s head.

“Y-yes, I did, General……”

“You…… trading with the Demon race, don’t you have any shame? They see us as insignificant creatures. Selling not only humans but even our own kind…… Tuh!”

The Orc general couldn’t hide his disgusted expression and spat.

“……So, what’s the reason for showing me this? If you’re suggesting I change my uniform, I refuse.”

“No, it’s not that. I need your information. I know that slave trading takes place even during the war. Where is that location?”

“Kugh, are you asking me to sell out my allies’ information? I can’t do that! Kill me honorably instead!”

The general tried to maintain his integrity, but Emperor Franz laughed at him.

“You can die with dignity. But what about the humans who are captured and violated by the Demon race? Moreover, your own kind has been captured; do they die honorably?”

“…….”

“As a civilized person, I have no intention of killing you, a prisoner. If you truly have no shame before honor, then judge for yourself.”

The Emperor left those words and turned to leave without regret. Either way, even if he didn’t tell, he could just attack other front lines and find information.

“Wait.”

“……What is it.”

“……Even if I tell you, you won’t be able to break through there.”

“Can’t break through…… Is it a fortress or something?”

“It’s Garun Fortress. I know that slaves are traded there. But the fortress is impregnable. It’s far from the front lines too. You won’t be able to break through it.”

“That’s none of your business, is it?”

The Emperor was confident.

He said that he could destroy any fortress if it was him.

But on the contrary, there was a part that he was slightly worried about.

That’s because he shouldn’t reveal that he or the Empire directly sent troops.

But if he captured that fortress with all his might, it might trigger an all-out war with Lasgar’s Greenskins.

But he couldn’t give up.

“You seem confident. But it will be easier if I help.”

“You’ll help?”

“That’s right. As a general, I will help you infiltrate. If I say that they are slaves I caught while escaping, they won’t suspect anything.”

“Ha…… You’re telling me to believe that?”

Objectively, it just looked like he was trying to trick them.

“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. But if Greenskin brethren are being violated by the Demon race, I just want to save them! Greenskins are no longer an uncivilized race to be used and ignored by the Demon race!”

Even while tied up, he revealed a spirit that made the surrounding Rangers flinch.

I gestured to the Rangers aiming their crossbows to lower them and said to him.

“Then you will end up killing your allies. Are you really prepared for that?”

“Those who sell out their brethren, Greenskins, are not allies.”

“I might be deceiving you?”

“I didn’t see any lies from you. But if you really deceive me, I will definitely kill you.”

Hearing those words, the Emperor smiled, convinced of his sincerity.

“Alright, then you’re coming with me.”

* * *

“How are the war conditions these days?”

“I heard it’s back and forth.”

“Well, the Northern guys are being supported by the Empire.”

“Our side is also being helped by the Lasgar faction. Shouldn’t we merge with them again?”

“But the Lasgar faction is still uncivilized, right? So merging would be a bit……”

Garun Fortress, one of the Southern army’s important strongholds, was well-defended with high walls and elite garrison troops. It was not only responsible for supplying the battlefield but also for the Southern army’s wartime economy, with a slave market that was always open.

“Oh, they’re coming again. Huh? But that person is…….”

“It’s General Drakal? I heard he was defeated and lost contact…….”

The sentries guarding the main gate of the fortress recognized a Greenskin approaching.

Known as a popular general, he was approaching the fortress with a few soldiers riding a large silver wolf.

And behind him, a group of humans were being dragged as prisoners.

“You guys, are you the main gate sentries?”

“Loyalty! General! Are you safe?”

“Yes. As you can see, I’m safe. My troops…… unfortunately, they were scattered.”

“But…… it looks like you escaped safely. That’s a relief. But what about the humans behind you?”

“They are prisoners I caught on the way. They are my spoils of war.”

“Indeed, amazing! I’ll open the gate for you right away!”

It was amazing that he had captured humans while breaking through the enemy’s encirclement. The sentries admired him and opened the gate.

“Indeed, it’s as easy as I thought.”

“I told you it would be easy.”

As they passed through the gate, I and Drakal whispered.

“I thought you would betray us.”

“If I did, you guys would have killed me. And in the first place, I had no intention of betraying you.”

The Greenskin soldiers escorting Drakal, and the human soldiers who followed pretending to be tied up, were all elite Northern army warriors and Rangers.

Certainly, if Drakal had used any suspicious tricks, they would have killed him immediately.

“Let’s pretend to be slaves a little longer. I haven’t had a chance to look around this fortress in detail, so I don’t know the internal situation either.”

“Hmm, should we?”

I decided to listen to Drakal a little more. Drakal was heading straight to the slave market set up inside the fortress.

“General! I heard you were safe!”

“Yes, I was lucky.”

Soon after, a Goblin approached him. The Goblin had a very greedy look.

“I heard you were defeated, but don’t worry too much. It’s more important that the General has returned.”

“I appreciate you saying that. By the way, as you can see, I caught these slaves on the way. I want to dispose of them.”

“Oh, they are all top quality. I will buy them all. I’ll make sure you’re not bored.”

“Thank you……. But where are they taking them?”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that…….”

“No, I want to know a little. There’s a rumor that they’re doing ‘special things’ here these days.”

As Drakal said casually, the Goblin rolled his eyes a bit and answered quietly.

“General, it’s better to pretend you don’t know about such rumors.”

“Is it something the higher-ups are doing quietly? But if that’s the case, I’ll find out eventually. I want to know in advance if it’s something that will help the war effort.”

“…….”

“If you tell me in advance, I’ll take care of your share later. I promise.”

“……Hoo, alright. I see that you are surprisingly reasonable, General.”

Only then did the Goblin begin to guide Drakal and us somewhere. It was a place leading to the basement of the fortress hidden in the slave market.

“This is……!”

And there, they saw something completely unexpected.